Itachi's Lover
by RC Mason
Summary: As Uchiha Madara said, Itachi had a lover. Who was she and what happened to her? This is her and Itachi's story up until the fateful night of the Uchiha clan massacre.
1. A Beginning

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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**Itachi's Lover**

**~ by RC Mason ~  
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**_As Uchiha Madara said, Itachi had a lover. Who was she and what happened to her?

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_~ A Beginning ~  
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_A whispered name, a broken kiss_

_This is amour in mortal bliss_

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_She was a bastard.

An Uchiha, but a bastard nonetheless.

Her father, like many Uchiha men, had a way with women. Tall, dark, and handsome, with those captivating obsidian eyes, he had met her mother in the alluring shadows and flickering lights of a traveller's pub. She poured his sake with shaking hands – and blushed when he noticed her trembling too. She was a pretty thing, had thought herself accustomed to the appreciative glances from the mysterious strangers that were a permanent feature of her world, and was justifiably mortified to feel that blush deepen to a warm rouge when he asked for her name and number. Stumbling, she said that she did not have a phone (in the dim lighting, he probably could not see the frayed patches of her dress beneath the waitressing attire), but he did not seem to care. He said he had a room. He lifted his dark eyes to meet her wide ones. Her heart skipped a beat.

Finally, could this be … that long-awaited and elusive love?

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Nine months later, she was screaming in pain outside the orphanage, as had many frightened teenaged girls before her. Rain splattered thickly against the battered weatherboards, smearing themselves against her cheeks and hiding the fact that she herself was crying. She did not want it to end like this, but she had nowhere else to go.

Struggling to stay conscious, she told the sympathetic Matron in laboured gasps that the baby would not be an orphan; it had a father.

'…Uchiha … Hidden … Leaf…' The Matron managed to discern.

She gave one final push, her body shuddering with agony, and felt a little creature slide out from her like a slippery fish. Its high-pitched cry was unmistakable.

'Is … she … beautiful?' her mother had whispered. Then the Matron felt the tight grip on her hand go slack.

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The baby was indeed beautiful, as her dying mother had hoped for. Not by the conventional standards that would procure praises from a passer-by, but in a subtle way that would make such a passer-by stop and stare.

Silky, raven hair framed a pale, gentle face. And those eyes – large, dark and deep. Captivating like her father's. Anyone could tell that they were the eyes of an Uchiha, and for this reason alone were the Uchihas prevented from refusing the tiny bundle that the kindly Matron turned up with on their doorsteps one dusky morning. It was more out of precaution than out of love for the blood – Uchiha eyes were like forbidden fruits to the masses, ripe for plucking to unleash the secrets within.

Her father had died in the month before her birth (a dangerous mission or an ill-fated affair?) so the Uchiha elders kept the circumstances of her arrival hushed, slightly embarrassed at the behaviour of their wayward son. She was christened in a name that was quickly and rather impassively chosen – ending up as one of the more common choices for girls in Hidden Leaf – before being sent off to live in the allotted area for the poorer relations. A distant cousin, they would later explain. Within a few months, this would become truth.

And so this girl, with the startling dark eyes, joined the accumulating secrets of the enigmatic clan of the Uchiha.

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**Well, that's the first instalment of my story. Of course, it's only a taste of what's to come and I would much appreciate it if I could get your feedback on what you thought - worth continuing or not? :)  
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**A bit of background info: this story actually started off as a one-shot and I was about 3/4 through when heaps of other ideas just kept on jumping at me and I realised that I could not do it justice and fit it into a one-shot. So now I'm just going over my initial sketches and filling it out more to make it into, hopefully, an enjoyable story. Though it sounds a bit dark here, this is only to establish the beginnings and I plan for the story to pick up in tone and pace in the future.**

**So please leave a review on the way out and let me know what you think. **

**P.S. This idea has its origins in the Naruto canon: Madara Uchiha said that Itachi had a lover whom he killed during the Uchiha clan massacre.  
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	2. Chapter One

**Itachi's Lover**

**~ by RC Mason ~**

**_As Uchiha Madara said, Itachi had a lover. Who was she and what happened to her?

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**~ Chapter One ~**

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_Her forehead seared with pain like a white hot knife slicing her head in two. A split second later, the charred stump of a tree branch crashed to her feet and she saw her blood glistening red on its particularly sharp end. The same blood trickled down the cut on her forehead to sting her eyes as they mixed with the tears already in there. She opened her mouth to cry out but black smoke forced their way into her lungs, and she coughed violently, her whole body racking with pain. Forcing her bloodshot eyes open again, she tried desperately to find someone that would help her, but she only saw dark silhouettes against the blazing landscape, all frantically running around but none looking for her. With this realisation, a black wave of that terrible feeling again swept over her … that terrible feeling of-_

She jolted out of bed, breathing heavily and her Sharingan unconsciously activated. As she took in the familiar plain grey walls of her bedroom, the simple desk in the corner and her few items of apparel stacked neatly on the chair in front of it, she allowed her tense muscles to relax and her eyes changed back from crimson to its usual black. It was the old nightmare – the thought 'nightmare' offering her some hollow comfort (it was not real, a figment of her mind) but the awareness of it as 'old' simultaneously robbed her of truly appreciating that comfort. She was seventeen dammit, too much of an adult to be entertaining childish fears, but still …. that memory haunted her as though it was merely yesterday…

She rubbed her tired eyes and glanced outside the window. It was still dusk with a gloomy grey permeating the scenery, casting everything into the coldness of its shadow. Nonetheless, she made herself leave the warmth of her bed, wincing slightly as her feet touched the freezing stone floor, and started pulling off her nightwear to put on her training gear. A plain white shirt over loose navy trousers – she checked her assembly in the bathroom mirror. Her pale, thin face reflected back at her, her eyes wide as the remnants of the nightmare still hung over her like an unfriendly ghost. She splashed cold water over her face and felt slightly better. Then, moving the dripping wet bangs out of her eyes, she tied up her hair in a simple ponytail, letting the elastic snap against its raven bundle.

At this, she was reminded of Haruno Cheri's comment yesterday at her Jonin ceremony. Of all the things that Cheri could have chosen to talk about – congratulations on her progression to Jonin rank, best wishes for the future, or even remarks about the weather (it was a surprisingly sunny day) – Cheri had to settle on:

'Ema, don't you change your hairstyle _at all_? Or at least spice it up with some new accessories?'

It was not a comment made unkindly but one that emanated from a person that had the luxury to indulge in the latest vogues and indeed could not see where greater pleasure could be found. As if testimony to this fact, Haruno Cheri had been wearing a sapphire silk ribbon that her father had specially imported for her from the Land of Water. It sat in vivid contrast to her bright pink hair and complemented her blue eyes.

It was so obvious, she thought as she quietly closed the bathroom door and tiptoed down the long corridor, past the bedrooms where countless Uchihas remained slumbering, that Haruno Cheri was an only child. Perhaps if she too had a doting father and a mother that gushed lavish words of encouragement ('You can be _anything_, honey'), she would have liked to spend more time on her appearances and on practising her smiles in coy ways that would make boys swoon.

But the reality was that Uchiha Ema had neither mother nor father, but a multitude of aunties and uncles that reminded her everyday of how lucky she was to have been born an Uchiha and therefore how she should work harder, try to be better. Despite their patronising air, she recognised the wisdom in their admonishments. Save for the Uchiha name, she really had nothing else to inherit, had nothing else to make her prominent in the world. This was what propelled her to get up so early on this cold morning: the burning desire to be _someone _–_anyone_ at all – and the realisation that she could only count on herself on seeing her dream through.

Her footsteps echoed in the large expanse of the Uchiha household and she paused slightly to make sure that she had not accidentally disturbed anyone. Satisfied, she softly pushed open the back door, revealing the path to the Uchiha training grounds.

The fresh, albeit chilling, morning air brought a small smile to her lips and she hurried along the tiled stone path to the most distant training patch. This would ensure that she would not disturb her relatives – many of which were rather irritable at this time of the morning – and also that she herself would not be disturbed. Her brow furrowed. ANBU trials were being held next week and, though her recent promotion to Jonin was commendable, it could mean nothing in the eyes of the Third Hokage whose selection was notorious for being focused on skill and specialisation, regardless of rank. She was determined to train as hard as ever to gain one of the fiercely competed spots to Konoha's most renowned and elite ninja organisation. It was her only way to make her mark on the world and to see more of it than just the Village Hidden in the Leaves. _This_, not silken ribbons and handsome boys, was where true happiness was found.

Placing herself at the centre of the square grassy patch, she pulled out her katana from her bag, a thin crescent-shaped blade that glinted silver as it was unsheathed. Despite it being unusual for an Uchiha, her speciality was in kenjutsu, which she infused with her own style of ninjutsu. Taking deep meditative breaths, she felt her chakra flow racing through her body, its momentum building with every breath, and she allowed some of it to encase her blade, thus enhancing the potency of its strikes. Her mind flew back to the voluminous books on jutsu that she had stayed up last night reading and her mouth formed a grim smile. Time to put the theory into practice.

A single slice in the air, invisible to the eyes and detectable only by its soft swish, was followed by another. And another – until a million cuts pierced the air. She turned then back-flipped, taking only a fraction of a second to form a seal on the ground using her katana. Then, still air-borne, she pressed her hands together, the final steps of her jutsu, and-

Suddenly, she sensed motion behind her and, though it was at a safe distance away, she stopped her jutsu and quickly leapt back on her feet. She squinted against the rising sun and saw a dark figure a few yards away, at the opposite end of the training ground. She did not mind that someone else was planning on training too, as long as it was not-

She let out a groan as she caught side of the long hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

It was Uchiha Itachi, one of her distant relations.

Except Uchiha Itachi was not just another one of her distant relations – he was the heir of the Uchiha clan, its pride and joy. Graduating at the top of his grade, he was promoted to ANBU _captain _at a ridiculously young age and had executed innumerable S-class missions since that have left the Uchihas singing his praises. When she was younger, she had looked up to him in a way, a sort of benchmark that she should set her goals on. However, in the large, bustling household of the Uchiha, their paths have never directly crossed; she could not recall a time when they had actually spoken to each other, and, during the family meals where Uchiha Fugaku had insisted the whole family eat together, Itachi was always placed in the prime position near the top of the long table whilst she sat further down (though her recent promotion to Jonin allowed her to sit a few seats up the table). Yet, at a distance, she observed that Itachi was polite and courteous, if not somewhat impassive. So she supposed that it was only expected that she should feel respect for him, for all his accomplishments and talents.

However, respect was the last thing she was feeling at the moment. Her groan was quickly followed by a scowl as she saw an unmistakable crowd of girls descending down the mountain to the meadow, picking out in particular the bob of bright pink hair with the silken blue ribbon.

The problem with Uchiha Itachi was that, not only was he a golden boy by his own talents, but he was a _pretty _boy too.

She never minded the fact that his achievements always overshadowed her own. She supposed that it was easy to overlook the quiet Uchiha bastard over the brilliant heir. Besides, her accomplishments were for herself only, not for the praises of others. But his achievements always brought her grief in a different way.

Graduating at top of his class meant that she had to endure disturbing nights of girls peeping into her bedroom window, thinking that the famous Uchiha Itachi was sleeping there (and, if they were lucky, _without his shirt on_). Then his rapid progression to Jonin found herself suddenly with a whole plethora of gushing girls finally resorting to befriending the strange Uchiha girl just to be in the _same room as Itachi _(who, again in their fantasies, had no shirt on). And finally, his promotion to ANBU captain served no other purpose than to cement his place as Konoha's Most Eligible Bachelor for the next century or so. This meant that whenever Itachi was training, it was inevitable that a crowd of girls would be drawn to him, as though by some perverted sixth sense, and probably out of the desire to see him training _without his shirt on_. She resisted the urge to bring her palm to her face.

And sure enough, Uchiha Itachi was now surrounded by myriad swooning girls, bringing out an assortment of food to him and wearing an almost hungry-looking expression on their own faces as they glimpsed his face and the toned, hard muscle beneath his shirt. His long, dark hair partially obscured his face, but not enough to mask his aquiline nose, high cheekbones, strong jaw and, of course, those dark, brooding eyes. (These were not her choice of words – rather they were standard snippets of conversation that she heard from the other girls when they would, not uncommonly, muse on the alleged, and apparently infinite, perfections of Uchiha Itachi. The general consensus was the word _gorgeous _summed him up perfectly).

The squeals of the girls throbbed in her ears and she sighed. She would have to find somewhere else to train. It was a pity because the Uchiha training grounds had one of the best terrains to practice on and afforded her the privacy to perform her fire jutsus without random strangers frantically running up to her and dowsing her with a pail of ice cold water, thinking that she had caught on fire. But it was impossible to train adequately in the midst of the ruckus the other girls were making. _Seriously…_

Sheathing her katana with an irritable jerk of her hands, she headed back down the stone path, perhaps treading on the ground with greater force than necessary. She could not help thinking that life was a lot simpler (and arguably more pleasant) when Uchiha Itachi was not around, so she could not help shooting him a quick glare as she passed him, thinking that he would not notice amidst his preoccupation with the girls.

As she slammed the door to the Uchiha compound, she did not see Itachi turn his head and glance at her departing figure. His dark eyes held a look almost akin to interest, but it lasted only a second before he dropped down and continued with his push-ups, ignoring the hysterical girls around him.

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**And so our story starts to kick off. Obviously, it is set in the pre-Naruto era, but as much as I prefer to keep my fanfics in sync with canon, there are a few changes that I feel I must make. **

**Apparently, Itachi killed his clan when he was thirteen. _Thirteen._ Not only is that really effed up (and in my opinion, slightly unbelievable), according to Madara, he had a 'lover' around this time. For me, thirteen year-olds do not have lovers. Yes, maybe crushes and girlfriends/boyfriends - but not lovers, which signify something more mature and meaningful and of course implies ... Anyway, I am understandably uncomfortable about framing a romance around a 13-year-old kid so I will take the liberty and increase the age gap between Itachi and Sasuke from 5 years to 10 years, meaning that Itachi (in my fanfic) is around 17-18 now and Sasuke's around 7. But the ages when Itachi did his achievements remain the same - e.g. academy graduation at 7, promotion to ANBU captain at 13. **

**Furthermore, I was looking at the Naruto database, and it tells me that, in Part I, Itachi is 175 cm. I killed myself laughing. I mean, no disrespect to people around that height, but in the anime, I get the impression that Itachi is pretty tall. For me, that would be at least 180 cm for an athletic guy - 175 cm is pretty average and around my height (and I am a girl!). Perhaps it is due to the cultural differences, but that's just perpetuating the stereotype that Japanese people are short. So, as I am going to extend Itachi's age, I am also doing the same with his height.**

**Which brings me to his weight. According to the Naruto database, at 175cm, Itachi only weighs 57kg. Not only is that borderline anorexic (from BMI), but this is _highly_ unrealistic (more so than his age and height combined). Given that he's a skilled ninja and strong, he must have a lot of muscle mass and muscle weighs alot. Athletes weigh more than normal people and normal men around 175cm+ generally do not weigh less than 60kg. So, I am going to join the campaign against unrealistic low weight expectations and give him a weight of 60kg +. I don't really care about the details, but I'm assuming that it would be of sufficient weight to give him a toned and lean - but not skinny - build.**

**Hence, all in all, I'm only making minor changes to Itachi's characteristics: 1. age 2. height 3. weight to respectively make him 1. more mature to have serious relationships 2. actually 'tall' 3. not underweight. I feel that Masashi Kishimoto really miscalculated in this department (but love Naruto nonetheless :) !)**

**However the events in the Naruto canon will remain the same.**

**Hope that makes sense and let me know what you think by leaving a review on the way out!**

**~ RC Mason.  
**


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